DURROW SPORTS SCENE

Durrow-Cullohill Parish Anglers held another Trout Fishing Competition on Sunday April 30th for the Bill Kelly Memorial Cup. The winner with a beautiful fish was Declan McDonald, Second placed was Tommy Coffey and Third placed was Pat Dunphy. The Juveniles U14 winners were: Shane Townsend, Eoghan Carroll, Liam Townsend, Shane Shortall and Keelan Carroll.

All-Ireland Champion: Congratulations and very well done to Tommy Coffey, Derrywood, Durrow and Vice-Chairman of the Durrow-Cullohill Parish Anglers on winning the All-Ireland Pike Fishing Competition recently. The competition had 55 anglers competing for the top prize from all parts of Ireland and it was held on the River Suck in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. Tommy’s afternoon fishing landed him with a total catch of sixty two pounds and fourteen ounces which was superb and won the competition. Tommy’s bag man for the day was another great fisherman from Durrow – David Walsh. A big part of the prize is that Tommy will be Captain of the All-Ireland team that competes against Great Britain in October. A great honour for Tommy and his family and for the local fishing club. Everyone wishes Tommy all the best in October and in the years to come.

Laois Kayak & Canoe Club will hold its Open Evening this Friday, 12th May from 7pm to 9pm. All are welcome to visit our Clubhouse at the Old Bridge in    Durrow and try out kayaking. All equipment will be supplied – just bring a towel and spare change of clothes. Places are subject to availability and are allocated on a first come basis.

Marathon Racing: Big congratulations to our Junior Paddlers Noah Murphy on taking home silver and Artie McDonald who took home bronze in the recent Celbridge Marathon Race.

Membership Renewal: Annual Membership is due, please have all renewal forms into Emer O’Brien for Canoeing Ireland Renewal, please check your email, our Viber or Facebook group chats for details.  If you would like to join, the membership form is available on our website, or contact any member, or  message through our Facebook page for more details.

Level 2 Kayaking Training: LKCC will be running a Kayaking Training session on the weekend of 27th and 28th May. A fun two days of weekend paddling, games and on-the-water instruction for both adults and Juniors (U18) who want to learn the basics of kayaking with qualified Canoeing Ireland instructors. This course is part of Laois Kayak and Canoe Club’s Summer Development Programme. What you will learn: To kayak safely & competently on flat water, An understanding of the Basic Paddling Techniques and Safety Rules of canoeing, An ability to Enter and Exit a kayak correctly, Forward Paddle, Reverse Paddle, and Stop, An ability to turn while stationary using Forward Sweep Stroke, Reverse Sweep Stroke and a combination of Forward and Reverse Sweep Strokes, Simple Draw Stroke, Low Brace Turning on the Move, Edging while the kayak is moving, Capsize Drill, An ability to assist in an Assisted X Rescue and/or an H Rescue. Group sizes are limited to a maximum of 12 persons Booking details are on our Facebook page.

Interested in Kayaking: Our Summer kayaking training and introduction sessions are now booking. Midweek   Paddling will start again on Wednesday evenings, once the evenings are longer. If you are interested in taking up paddling please keep an eye out on Facebook and on our website for introduction nights, training sessions and events for Junior and Senior paddlers – see www.laoiskayak.com online.

LIONS FC: The Lions are entering an Over-35 Soccer team into a Summer League. If anyone over thirty five is    interested in playing, please contact any committee member of the Club.

The Harps U16s have made a great start to the year in both hurling and football and have now qualified to play Abbeyleix in the hurling league final this Tuesday evening. The hurlers have beaten Ballacolla-Mountrath, Ballinakill Gaels, Abbeyleix, Portlaoise and Raheen Parish Gaels and now look forward to Tuesday’s re-match with Abbeyleix. The Footballers also have done very well beating Portlaoise B, Graiguecullen and Ratheniska. Championship is first priority but nice to get a good start to the year in both leagues!

Panel – Lorcan Fitzpatrick, Thomas Walsh, Billy McEvoy, Jim O’Connor, Rian Edwards, Ciaran Shortall, Tiarnach     Doheny, James Duggan, Aaron Grady, Ben Dunphy, Conor Delaney, Mikey Monahan, Pauric Walsh, Daire Quinn, Jim Kirby, Ciaran Burke, Cody Comerford, Mark Holland, Darren O’Neill, Mark Deegan, Bill Phelan, Emmett Moore, Tony Lee Donoghue, Patrick Daly, Jack Murphy, Jake Downey, Edward O’Brien, Thep Fitzpatrick.

Date for your Diary: The Harps Annual Race Night will be held in Lennons Venue, Durrow on Saturday July 1st. Players and Committee members will shortly be selling horses for the event. Please support this vital fundraiser.

HARPS CAMOGIE CLUB: Congratulations to Jim Kelly who was the recipient of €500 in our last Barney’s Bonus Bonanza.

Congratulations also to our club members who were part of the Colaiste Mhuire, Johnstown team which won the Leinster final on Thursday, May 11th. Great to see so many Harps girls involved!!!